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Published: November 1st 2009
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So we left you on the border from Jordan. A lot of fun that was. Usual questions: Have you packed the bag yourself sir? Could anyone have interfered with it? Are you carrying any guns with you? Erm, I think Dee has a nail scissors…
Jerusalem
So as we were in Israel, we thought it would be a shame to just skip on to Egypt too promptly, so we booked ourselves into a hostel (which appeared to be considerably cheaper than any of the others we saw but still more expensive than most of the Middle East) and then caught a bus north to spend two days exploring Jerusalem.
When we arrived, we quickly became aware why the “19 bed dorm” was so much cheaper - it was actually the roof!! Our budget is tight, and our standards are low, but we have limits. So we paid the man a little more, and took up our positions in a nice dorm downstairs and more importantly indoors.
And then commenced the fun-filled job of seeing as much of Jerusalem as possible before we had to leave again. We started by heading up to the top of
the Mount of Olives where we visited the Church of Ascension. This is where Zechariah said God will redeem the dead when the Messiah returns on Judgment Day. As that was not happening whilst we were there, we just admired the view over Jerusalem.
And it was in admiring the view over the city of David that we experienced how spiritual this city really is - for everyone... Like any other tourist hot-spot, bus loads of very excitable tourists of different nationalities disembark and their guide points out all of the relevant sites. However, we couldn’t get over the fact that each bus load had come to see entirely different sites depending on their religion. Muslims were shown the most important mosques, Christians the holiest churches and Jewish the most sacred synagogues and so on. This city is the holiest city for three of the world’s main religions and you really get a feel for that when you are visiting.
After our well earned rest, we headed back downhill to spend some time in the Gardens of Gethsemane. Then onward to the Tomb of the Virgin Mary and a long walk through the old city along the 14
stations of the cross, finishing up in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which is where Jesus was crucified having carried the cross through the city. Being aware of all of these sites from the Bible, it was an exciting experience to actually see them in person.
Dahab
So having spent a hectic 48 hours sight-seeing in Jerusalem, it was time for some relaxation Egyptian style and we headed for Dahab. Dahab is a backpacker hangout on the beach in the Red Sea. Think lots of cushions, chill out music, drinking lots of tea and beer and eating lots of fresh fish… every day. Just what the doctor ordered for two weary travelers looking to relax for a few days before we set off to see the rest of Egypt. Because we are very stressed people and need to chill you see. Only problem was we could not get off the cushions, and 6 days passed before we realised. Ah well.
The highlight in Dahab was definitely the snorkeling. Neither of us had ever swam in a coral sea before, and the variety and colour of the fish you see there is outstanding. It was
just beautiful to see. We did think about trying out the diving, but as the coral here is so shallow you can actually see the divers a few feet below you looking at the same fish so decided to stick to snorkeling. That is in between cups of tea.
After too long in Dahab, and not long enough, we dragged ourselves onto a 16 hour bus all the way to Luxor in south of Egypt on the Nile (incidentally, pronounced Niall here, so it was my turn to be a celebrity).
Luxor
The Niall valley is beautiful, and it was refreshing to see acres of green fields again. The main crop here is sugar cane - and they produce tonnes of the stuff. Interestingly though, due to the Egyptian sweet tooth, the country still has to import more. Possibly explains why 20%!o(MISSING)f the population is diabetic.
In Luxor we saw the Temple of Karnak, the Valley of the Kings (where the tomb of Tutankhamun was found), the Valley of the Queens and the Temple of Hatshepsut. All revolve around extravagant burials chambers, but are impressive mainly due to their age (up to 5,000 years
ago). But when you see one the rest are pretty much the same, and we saw quite a few...
Small side story, but when the Jordanian government wanted to make Petra into a tourist attraction they built a city for the people that still lived there, moved them for free and gave them and their families tax free status. Everyone was happy. The Egyptians want to make the Valley of the Nobles in Luxor an attraction but there is a village in the valley. So they cut the water off. Three years ago. The people have not left, and the villagers continue to make the 4 mile walk every day for water. It is also rumoured that the tombs have already been emptied by some of the thirsty locals.
To finish our time in Luxor, we also went on a nice felucca trip on the Niall at sunset. Feluccas are an old Egyptian style of sailing boat, nice for an evening sail. Trouble is you need wind to sail, and there wasn’t too much around that evening. But the big boat came along to save us and tow us (and another half dozen feluccas) downstream. All good fun.
Cairo
Then we took an overnight train north along the Niall valley to Cairo. What a massive city. Buzzing but also filthy. And crowded with close on 20 million people. Although our taxi driver was trying hard to reduce the population. You take your life in your hands crossing the road in Cairo, we just used the locals as human shields.
And we saw the Pyramids to round off our weeks of site seeing, the last remaining of the ancient wonders of the world, which was kind of tick box, done that site seeing because there are so many tourists around. And all the locals are trying to sell you stuff, non stop. Niall started using their own sales tactics back on them for fun, to try and sell his watch.
“Hello, where you from? “
“ah…Egypt…”
“First time in Cairo?”
“What? I come here every day….”
“You want to buy a watch? I give you good price. Come on, its good price.”
And then they would trot away, not exactly sure what was going on, to try and sell a camel ride to someone
else.
So there you are, and that is the Middle East trip complete. 44 days, 6 countries and 17 cities later...
We drank gallons of tea; Ate kebabs, falafel and humus almost daily and camel once; Became expert backgammon players (well kinda) and learned some Turkish, Hebrew and Arabic.
We stayed in some very cheap rooms (£4 is the record), including one with a toilet that you had to have one foot in the shower, and one where you had to pay for your own toilet roll. We had more cold showers than hot ones. We slept in a cave and in a tree house, on a bus and on a train, in a lot of dorms and even one or two en suite, air conditioned double rooms.
But to be fair the Middle East has been absolutely fantastic to us, the abundance of history and the overwhelming friendliness of the people have made this trip unforgettable.
Tonight, well in about an hour, we fly to Nairobi (via Addis Ababa) to start the next chapter of our trip - volunteering with Jamii Bora.
We will be in touch as soon as
we get settled.
Niall & Dee
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Heidi Small
non-member comment
How wonderful
Thanks for sharing your adventure with us. So glad the middle east was so much fun for the both of you and wishing you a safe journey to Africa. Best of luck settling in and cannot wait to hear about the next leg of your journey.